Archives for November 2005

Clarendon Elementary students were named District Champions for the fifth consecutive year in the Fall University Interscholastic League Literary Meet held at Clarendon CISD last week.

The meet is comprised of students from six different school districts, with seven campuses competing against each other. Students from each district spent many hours in preparation for the Fall Meet.

Clarendon Elementary Principal Mike Word commented on how well behaved and focused the students from Clarendon were throughout the two-day meet.

“Our students and coaches spent a great deal of time studying, practicing, and getting prepared for their contest,” Word said.  “It is the only competition our students have that enables us to compete with students outside our district.  I want to thank our parents for all the time they spend working with our kids, also.”

Clarendon students performed very well at this year’s contest.  For the fifth consecutive year, the students won the UIL Fall Literary Meet.

Scores from each of the district were: Quanah Elementary, sixth place with 81.3 points; Shamrock Elementary, fifth place with 85.3 points; Memphis, fourth place with 144 points; Claude Elementary, third place with 257.25 points; Wellington, second place with 263.3 points; and Clarendon Elementary, District Champions with 409.75 points.

Clarendon students placing from each events were:

Second Grade: Creative Writing – Taylor Perryman, fourth; Third Grade: Music Memory – Kaylee Sciacca, fourth with the team scores placing second; Ready Writing – Zach LaRoe, second; Addison Warren, fifth; Kaylee Sciacca, sixth; Spelling – Kaylee Sciacca, first; Storytelling – Zachary Watson, fourth

Fourth Grade: Number Sense – Jacy Hill, first, and Audra Thomas, second; Music Memory – Jessica Ceniceros, second with the team scores placing second; Ready Writing – Minnie Buckhaults, second, and Zachary Cornell, fifth; Spelling – Haley Ferguson, fifth, and Phara Berry, sixth; Art Smart – Jessica Ceniceros, Jacy Hill, and Savannah Topper all tied for first, Camra Smith, fifth (tie) with a team score placing first; Oral Reading – Audra Thomas, third, and Savannah Topper, fifth

Fifth Grade: Number Sense – Jentry Shadle, fourth; Music Memory – Gabby Rodriguez, first, and J.D. Baxter, fifth; Ready Writing – Jency Burton, first, and Kenzie Perryman, second; Dictionary Skills – Gabby Rodriguez, second, and Kenzie Perryman, third; Maps, Graphs, and Charts – J.D. Baxter, fourth, and Kenzie Perryman, fifth; Spelling – Maritta Brady, first; Anna Ceniceros, second; and Gabby Rodriguez, third; Art Smart – Gabby Rodriguez, second, Jentry Shadle, fourth with a team total placing second; Oral Reading – Maci White, first, and Jentry Shadle, fourth; Listening Skills – Kenzie Perryman, second; Cole Ward, third; and Gabby Rodrigues, fourth.

Congratulations to all the students, parents, and coaches for another very successful UIL Literary Meet.

The Clarendon College Board of Regents hired an architect to develop plans for CC’s former library and, as President Myles Shelton put it, set the stage for future growth.

The west end of the Administration Building was vacated in February following the opening of the Vera Dial Dickey Library; and, with the exception of the Office of Public Information and special functions, it is mostly unused.

WD Architects of Amarillo, which designed the new library, will draw up plans to convert the old library’s 4,131 square feet into a new usable space that Shelton says will poise the college to expand.

“It will likely be used for administrative offices and the functions associated with those offices,” Shelton said.

The college administration and some student services are presently crammed into 2,511 square feet on the east end of the building. That area would likely be reconfigured and devoted solely to student services.

“We’re just stacked on top of each other right now,” Shelton said.

Shelton said if the college is to grow enrollment by another 150 students on its main campus, it will require more classrooms, more faculty office space, and more administrative space to support those students.

“We’re trying to set the stage for that next level, whenever that might come about.”

No timetable was set for the architects to report back.

In other business, regents reviewed a performance measures report on the college that showed 92.27 percent of students completed classes in the fall of 2004 and that 79.29 percent of contact hours were taught by fulltime faculty members.

Of all the Clarendon College students who took state licensure exams, 89.85 percent passed, and 94 percent of CC nursing students passed the state exam.

The report also showed that 41.7 percent of CC’s students in developmental classes passed the TASP or similar exam, which Shelton says looks bad but is actually one of the highest pass rates in the state.

The board approved a grant to the Harrington trust and also approved a contract hiring Marsha Julian to teach in the vocational nursing program.

Regents also received an update on the college’s reaffirmation of accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. A final report from the association is still forthcoming but it looks good, Shelton said.

The Donley County Commissioners’ Court voted in favor of seeking approval for a state historical marker for the 1890 Courthouse during their regular meeting November 14.

County Judge Jack Hall said the court approved spending $850 to purchase the marker, which would be subject to the approval of an application to the Texas Historical Commission.

“We hope to have it in place by July 4 and have some kind of short dedication,” Hall said.

The application would first have to be approved by Donley County Historical Commission Chair Jean Stavenhagen before being forwarded to the state.

The Romanesque Revival style courthouse was opened for county business in 1891 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978 along with the old county jail, which has since been razed and replaced by the current jail.

The removal of the third story towers and dormers in the late 1930s prevented the courthouse from previously being eligible for a state marker, but the completion of a $4.2 million restoration in 2003 has changed the building’s eligibility status.

“We couldn’t have even applied for any kind of marker before it was completely restored,” Stavenhagen said. “Patching it up and getting the bats out wasn’t enough. We had to go back as original as possible with all the paint and flooring and everything.”

A location for the proposed marker hasn’t been decided, but an area on the northeast corner of the square is a possibility, Hall said.

In other county business, the court cast the county’s ballots for members of the appraisal board as follows – 900 for Jerry Gage and 411 for Bobbie Campbell.

A contract with Kim Layton for janitorial services in the Courthouse Annex was considered and approved.

The court approved allowing the Girl Scouts to decorate the courthouse square for Christmas.

The court also met in called session on November 21 to canvass the local results of the state constitutional amendment election held November 8.

Donley County’s unemployment rate dropped to 3.5 percent last month, its lowest level since October 2001.

The seasonally non-adjusted data from the Texas Workforce Commission shows 1,849 employed locally out of a potential work force of 1,917.

That’s down from unemployment rates of 4.7 percent in August and 3.9 percent in September. The rate one year ago was 4.0 percent when 1,855 people were employed out of a work force of 1,932.

Meanwhile, seasonally Adjusted Nonagricultural Employment in Texas grew by 14,700 jobs in October, marking 14 consecutive months of job growth. Over the year, Texas employers have added 131,300 jobs, with an annual growth rate of 1.4 percent and job additions in all nine major industry sectors. The unemployment rate fell from an initial 5.7 percent in September (revised to 5.3 percent) to 5.2 percent for October.

“Job growth continues at a modest yet constant pace,” said Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) Chair Diane Rath. “The revision and following drop of the unemployment rate is welcome and a more realistic picture of the Texas labor market. At 5.2 percent, the current unemployment rate is well below the October 2004 rate of 6.0 percent.”

“Job growth has been consistent as Texas employers have added more than 260,000 jobs in the last 24 months,” said TWC Commissioner Representing Employers Ron Lehman. “Moreover, job growth continues to be broad based, with jobs added over the year in all nine major industries.

“The Texas unemployment rate showed a welcome drop, as some 19,325 more Texans found jobs,” said TWC Commissioner Representing Labor Ronny Congleton. “It is also worthy to note that the number of employed Texans now stands at 10,703,600, an all-time record.”

Initial claims for unemployment compensation in October 2005 were 95,197, with 33,908 claims directly relating to Hurricane Rita. Initial claims, without disaster claims, were down 22 percent from October 2004.

The Clarendon Girl Scouts, Brownies, and Daisies would like to invite everyone to join them Thursday, November 17, at 6:00 p.m. on the Donley County Courthouse Square for the annual Christmas Lighting Ceremony.

Entertainment will be provided by the scout troops along with the Community Church Children’s Choir, True Church of God and Christ Choir, Disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ Choir, First Methodist Church Handbells, Sister Mary Magdalene, the Assembly of God, Dan Hall, Jim Shadle, The Saints’ Roost Band, and Santa Claus.

The downtown merchants will be open afterward for the first night of Late Night Shopping. Hot cocoa, cider, and snacks will be provided by the scouts.

The Clarendon Board of Aldermen will likely adopt a state statute as city ordinance to deal with the issue of cruelty to animals following last Tuesday’s regular meeting.

If approved, subtle changes would be made in the wording from Texas Penal Code Sec. 42.09, replacing the punishment and fine clauses to reflect the maximum penalties a municipality can impose.

The statute’s definition of cruelty to animals would remain unchanged, reading “a person commits the crime of cruelty to animals if the person intentionally or knowingly tortures or seriously overworks; or fails unreasonably to provide necessary food, care, or shelter; or abandons; or transports in a cruel manner; or kills, injures, or administers poison; or uses as bait in a race; or trips a horse.

A three-aldermen committee would also be set up to give those charged under the ordinance an avenue of appeal before a case went before the municipal court.

Alderman Michael Tibbets said this committee would not be included in the ordinance but would instead be set up by resolution and could be dissolved if there came a time when no one was willing to serve on such a committee.

Animal Control Officer Tony Ballard first expressed his concern about dogs being chained up without food or water in a letter presented at the city’s October 11 meeting. Ballard had submitted sample ordinances that would ban or limit keeping dogs on chains.

Residents John Morrow and Bobby Wood addressed the board concerning the proposed ordinance, and Wood said he wanted to make certain that people would not be prosecuted who took proper care of their dogs but who had to chain their dogs during the day because they cannot afford a fence.

“The issue is no longer dogs on chains,” Tibbets said. “The issue is cruelty to animals.”

The board will consider the new ordinance at its next meeting on November 22.

In other city business, Chris Sharp of the Panhandle Regional Planning Commission addressed the board concerning STEP grants through the state Office of Rural Community Affairs.

Grants of up to $350,000 are available for purchasing material for water and sewer line replacements. None of the money can be spent on labor, which could be donated from the community or be provided by city employees.

The board directed Sharp to begin the application process. Applications are due in March, and the grants will be awarded in June. The competition is statewide, but Sharp said there is interest in Austin to see this money spread around the state.

Larry Hicks addressed the board concerning a house he purchased at 507 E. Fourth St., which is in the R2 residential zone. He said a local man would like to rent the property for use as a physical therapy office, but he wanted to make sure there were no zoning problems with that.

Several aldermen told Hicks they didn’t have a problem with this, but Alderman Tibbets reminded the board that they had previously denied other businesses going into residential areas. Mayor Tex Selvidge said the city would need to check the wording of the ordinance and told Hicks they would have an answer by the next meeting.

Clarendon’s economy continues to produce higher sales tax returns, according to information released by Texas Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn last Friday.

The city’s November sales tax allocation soared 18.85 percent above the same period last year for a total rebate of $25,615.41.

Clarendon started the calendar year with lower returns, but local sales produced increased returns for five months in a row before tapering off in August and then rebounded big in September. This month’s allocation drives the city’s year-to-date collections to an 8.14 percent increase of $249,396.84.

Hedley and Howardwick also posted big gains this month. Hedley’s rebate of $755.37 was up from $425.15, which reflects a 7.14 percent increase for the year. Howardwick was up 15.4 percent to $1,192, and has seen a 2.49 percent increase on the year-to-date.

Statewide sales tax revenue is up, even though November sales tax allocations to 73 Southeast Texas cities, counties, special purpose districts and a transit system impacted by the hurricane are down $2.3 million, or four percent, compared to November 2004.  For 24 of the affected local entities, sales tax revenue is off by 20 percent to 73 percent. 

Strayhorn reported that state sales tax collections rose to $1.36 billion in October, up 5.9 percent, compared to October 2004.  Texas cities received $310.9 million in sales tax allocations, up 8.6 percent compared to November 2004. 

October state sales tax collections and November sales tax allocations to local governments represent September sales reported to the Comptroller in October by monthly tax filers and July, August and September sales reported to the Comptroller in October by quarterly tax filers.

By Roger  Estlack & Cheryl Johnson, Clarendon Enterprise

The citizens of Donley County last week paid their respect to the veterans who have served America and secured freedom for all who live here.

The Adamson-Lane Post 287 of the American Legion held their annual service at the Veterans’ Memorial in Rowe Cemetery on Friday morning.

Doyle Messer conducted the ceremony and delivered the invocation. Following the posting of the colors, Andrea Musick sang the National Anthem, and T.C. Saye led the Pledge of Allegiance.

The featured speaker of the event was Gary Weatherly of Memphis. He graduated from Hedley High School in 1965 and served with the US Army from 1965 to 1968, during which time he served in Vietnam with the First Cavalry Division from November 1966 to November 1967. 

“I feel very fortunate to have grown up in a patriotic community like Hedley,” Weatherly said as he recalled how Vietnam veterans were welcomed home in Hedley with banquets when they were shunned in other parts of the country.

Weatherly said the military teaches responsibility and self-discipline, and he said he hoped today’s fighting men and women will be remembered for the good they are trying to do.

Clarendon VFW Post 7782 also held its annual Veterans Day Service on Friday at the Donley County War Memorial. 

The guest speaker was Joe McQuay, a 37-year veteran of the Marine Corps.  The Bronco Band played several patriotic selections during the ceremony.  Darrell Burton, pastor of the Martin Baptist Church gave the invocation.  Post Commander Larry Pettit led the ceremony.

McQuay recognized all branches of the military and the importance of thanking the vets who are still alive.  He also spoke about the generation now fighting in Iraq and how it is the soldier that gave us the rights of freedom, religion, speech, demonstration, and free trial.

At the conclusion of the ceremony, the members of the Bronco Band laid flowers on the memorial.

Local veterans also enjoyed a meal prepared by the Clarendon High School home economics class Friday at noon.  The Clarendon Elementary children also presented a program to the vets and their guests.

A veterans’ program was also held at the Vera Dial Dickey Library at Clarendon College on Monday.